Questions in wake of Sunrise

The Star’s readers may be surprised to learn that, despite the Sunrise disaster, the basic institutional model behind of the Technical Standards and Safety Authority and other “Delegated Administrative Authorities” (DAAs) remains at the core of the province’s vision for “modern government.”

Extensive changes were made to the oversight regimes for these private corporations carrying out governmental functions in the aftermath of the Sunrise explosion. These changes brought them under much closer government control, and provided for a more robust accountability framework than was included in their original design.

However, as the Star points out, where public health and safety and other fundamental public goods are at stake, serious questions still have to be raised about the appropriateness of the DAA model for service delivery, as opposed to the retention of these functions within the core institutional structure of the provincial government.